Interviewing and observation are two methods of collecting qualitative data as part of research. Both tools are used by academic researchers and in fields such as market research. There are two types of observation. In a participant observation, the researcher will make herself part of the community that she is observing. A direct observation can be more focused, as the researcher often calls in her subjects and observes them for a specified amount of time.
Interviews vary from structured, in which a set list of questions is asked of every interviewee, to unstructured, which is open-ended. These different techniques lead to many differences in conducting and analyzing the research data.

Timescales

The more open-ended the research method, the longer it takes, both to conduct and to analyze. A participant observation, for example, may take months, as the researcher must establish herself as part of the community that she is observing. However, structured interviews using a single set of questions can take only a matter of hours.

Recording

Interviewing is usually conducted with the aid of a tape or digital recorder. The contents of the recorder are then transcribed, coded and analyzed. With direct observation, it is possible to use a wider range of tools, including video, which is good for recording non-verbal interactions. Participant observation is obviously difficult to record directly as the researcher is, by definition, involved in the action she is observing. The researcher usually records her observations after the fact.

Data

With an observation, you see what people do. It is not an intervention, and even participant observers try to be as unobtrusive as possible. This is done to make it unlikely that the actions you observe are staged or deceptive. With interviews, the data you gain is more complex and subjective. People are telling you what they think, which is not necessarily the same as what they do. In any case, it can be colored by their perception of what you want to hear or what they think they ought to say.

Analysis

The most straightforward analysis comes from a structured interview. However many interviews you conduct, because they are all based on the same set of questions, you can compare answers directly. Unstructured interviews and participant observations are the most difficult to analyze, partly because there is so much data. Unstructured interviews require a lot of synthesis before responses can be compared.

About the Author

Lalla Scotter has been writing professionally since 1988, covering topics ranging from leadership to agriculture. Her work has appeared in publications such as the "Financial Times" and "Oxford Today." Scotter holds an honors Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Bristol.

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